They Create Worlds

https://feed.theycreateworlds.com/feed.xml

539.6K

Downloads

261

Episodes

The games we love reveal something true about who we are, and about the world that made them. They Create Worlds is a podcast about the people, technology, and forces that built the video game industry.

Through video game history, the show looks at how culture, business, and technology shaped what we play, tracing the choices and circumstances that led to the games so many people around the world enjoy.

Each episode digs into where games came from, who made them, and why they were made the way they were. Business decisions, technological shifts, and creative choices all shaped what ended up on screen, and the show covers all of it together, not just one piece in isolation.

Hosted by Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum, They Create Worlds grew out of long conversations about the strange corners of the industry and the patterns that only show up when you look across companies, platforms, and decades. That conversational feel remains, built on careful research, clear structure and editing that makes even the deepest topics easy to listen to.

History turns out to be less settled than it looks. New documents surface, memories conflict, and the clean stories about why things happened the way they did rarely survive contact with the evidence. The show digs into all of that, following the creative and business forces that pushed and pulled on each other, and uncovering the human stories that lie beneath the games so many people around the world enjoy.

New episodes are released twice a month.

Episodes

3 days ago

Starfox

3 days ago

TCW Podcast Episode 261 - StarFox

Before Star Fox, there was a developer in Britain building copy protection tools, a dinner party that opened the right door, and a Game Boy prototype game that could do something it was never supposed to do. Jez San's Argonaut Software caught Nintendo's attention at CES and was invited to Japan. The meeting led to a two million dollar deal to build a custom chip to bring real 3D to the SNES. A team of Argonaut programmers moved to Japan and worked alongside Shigeru Miyamoto and Katsuya Eguchi to build one of the most technically ambitious games on the system. The Super FX chip made it possible, and a Kyoto fox shrine gave it its identity. Star Fox sold well, but its late arrival in the SNES lifecycle meant a nearly completed Star Fox 2 was shelved and not released until the SNES Classic. The collaboration that made it all possible did not end on the warmest terms. Nintendo retained some of Argonaut's programmers, and San walked away feeling the partnership had given Nintendo far more than it had given Argonaut.

TCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market - Hardware: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW017-the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware

TCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market - Software: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW018-the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software

TCW 049 - Old and Elite: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW049-old-and-elite

Skyline Attack (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXb1IlVOTVM

Star Wars (Atari - Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJv94FPRddA

StarGlider (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nxTSc-4os
TCW - 130: Uncle Clive's Radionics: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW130-uncle-clives-radionics
TCW 131 - Sir Clive of ZX: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW131-sir-clive-of-zx

Sinclair C5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjiiayrKiuk

Micro Men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM

TCW 244 - The History of Commodore Pt 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW244-the-history-of-commodore-pt-1

TCW 245 - The History of Commodore Pt 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW245-the-history-of-commodore-pt-2

TCW 246 - The History of Commodore Pt 3: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW246-the-history-of-commodore-pt-3

TCW 247 - The History of Commodore Pt 4: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW247-the-history-of-commodore-pt-4